Morning Report for Wednesday 22 November 2023

8:45 AM.The Conservation Department is concerned about two reported wallaby sightings on the West Coast of the South Island in recent months.

The pests threaten the environment and biodiversity, and can have… Read more Audio

8:41 AM.The Gore District Council has rejected a second petition calling for its chief executive, Stephen Parry, to go.

Parry's fractured relationship with the mayor led him to resign in September but he was… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.Hutt City Council has voted unanimously to support a call from mana whenua to change the name of the suburb Petone back to Pito-one.

The area's traditional name was misspelled after colonial… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.Negotiations for the release of hostages in Gaza are in their final stage, and could be announced at any time.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened his 'war cabinet', ahead of… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.There are plans to increase pay for early childhood teachers in line with school and kindergarten teachers.

A Cabinet paper shows the Education Ministry underestimated the cost by a quarter of a… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.We're into the 19th day of coalition negotiations as National, ACT and New Zealand First seek to form the next government, and talks are now down to ministerial allocations between the three parties.

7:41 AM.An invasive, Australian rival to New Zealand's ancient wētā grasshopper is slowly gaining a foothold in some of the country's warmer regions.

First recorded in 1990, the "winged wētā" has small… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.Passengers trying to fly in and out of Wellington are facing further disruption Wednesday morning.

More than a 100 Air New Zealand flights were cancelled on Tuesday affecting more than 6,000 people… Read more Audio

7:33 AM.New Zealand is getting a second professional football team from next year, with an Auckland franchise set to be added to the A-League.

Colours and the home ground for the new team haven't been… Read more Audio

7:30 AM.Job listings in October fell six percent, following a dip of two percent in September, while the number of applications rose four percent month-on-month from September.

That's according to the latest… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.A Cabinet paper shows the Education Ministry underestimated the cost of passing on school and kindergarten teachers' pay rises to early childhood teachers by a quarter of a billion dollars over four… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.More than 110 flights were cancelled because of the low cloud.

The airline says additional delays or cancellations could happen on Wednesday due to aircraft and crew being in the wrong places around… Read more Audio

7:11 AM.As talks to form a new National Party-led government near the end of their third week, the focus is now on ministerial positions and the role of Deputy Prime Minister.

ACT leader David Seymour has… Read more Audio

7:08 AM.National, ACT and New Zealand First have reached the final hurdle in coalition negotiations, after almost three long weeks of talks.

They've agreed on policies, and the three parties are now… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.New satellite measurements show the ozone hole above Antarctica continues to grow - although it's happening later in spring than it used to.

Otago University research says that the ban on… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter, is suing a media watchdog group for defamation.

Media Matters published a report accusing the platform of placing ads from major corporations… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.The national grid operator is planning to spend nearly $5 billion on the network between 2025 and 2030.

The spend includes capital expenditure of $2.25 billion - 32 per cent higher than the current… Read more Audio

6:21 AM.In Iceland, the uncertainty of the looming volcanic eruption is the only certainty residents have.

Authorities from Iceland's Meteorological Office are warning that there may be just 30 minutes… Read more Audio

6:17 AM.An inquiry into the UK's response to the Covid-19 pandemic is underway and has exposed damning information about the Conservative government's approach.

Tuesday's hearing revealed that current Prime… Read more Audio

6:13 AM.Hundreds of would-be travellers were left queueing to rebook flights at Wellington and Auckland airports on Tuesday after low clouds forced cancellations and diversions.

More than 100 flights and… Read more Audio